This invention generally relates to a connector device for making electrically sound connections by a lateral insertion process.
There exists in the market, and therefore can be considered the state of the art, a plurality of connector types, which specifically function to join, the connector and an assembly of wires having in their ends the corresponding terminals, which lodge into the connector's interior in a single body.
The disposition of a plurality of male and female terminals into the respective connectors provides electrical continuity in complex electric installations such as those used in automobiles, for example.
There are several difficulties appearing when inserting the terminals into the inside of the connectors. First, the terminals need to be kept well positioned in the connector. Second, once the terminals are introduced inside the connector, they should not easily move from where they are correctly placed, which would produce an opening of the corresponding electrical circuit.
The function of the connectors in complex electrical assemblies is multifaceted. In the first place the productivity or economies of placing the terminals inside the connector should be enhanced. Second, the connector should enable a user to check that the operation has been correctly performed. Further, the connector's inside configuration should provide a total certainty that in the moment of the connection among a male and a female connector any extraction of a terminal does not happen. Once the terminals are connected, they should not become dislodged as a consequence of the vehicle's vibration. Once installed, a connector's terminal should not move or come loose, which would have the effect of opening some circuits of the electrical installation.
The present application provides a connector that meets the needs state above, which were not met by the prior art. The inventive design is especially well-suited for lateral insertion or introducing the terminal and the wire inside the connector from the side.